


Misadventures of the World Tournament

by nimondor



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, M/M, Pokemon POV, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Some angst, blastoise is a mother hen, blue is a good bro, but so is ethan, charizard got no chill, espeon is a brat, hilbert is a protective brother, hilda is bad at feelings, hilda is stubborn, pikachu is a little shit, red is bad at feelings, red is reckless, slight AU, snorlax just wants to sleep, this is why red can't have nice things, venusaur is too old for this shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimondor/pseuds/nimondor
Summary: Red heads to Unova, where he expects to participate in a tournament against other champions from all over the world and to explore an entirely new region.He doesn't expect two separate criminal organizations trying to resurface simultaneously. He doesn't expect Hilda to come waltzing into his life.He isn't sure what to expect anymore.





	1. Manila Folders

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! There are just a few things I'd like you to know before we get started:
> 
>  **(1)** This is strictly game-verse so no Ash, no Yellow, etc.  
>  **(2)** Most chapters are and will be in Pikachu's POV, everyone gets their own set of chapters later on down the road.  
>  **(3)** Although this does focus mainly on RedxHilda, there will be other pairings but I won't list them :)  
>  **(4)** All main protagonists and most rivals are here (Crystal is exempted for Lyra) and while some may not have a major part in the story, they will appear a few times.  
>  **(5)** _"Pokemon speech"_ \- "Human speech" - _Red's thoughts as translated by Espeon_  
>  **(6)** In this fic, pokemon can know more than 4 moves because why not.  
>  **(7)** I update really, _really_ slowly because I'm super busy all the time.
> 
> Happy reading!

_Pikachu_

When I was a wild pokemon, I could always come to Pallet Town and get any food humans left untouched, play with other pokemon wandering around in Professor Oak's laboratory or if I was in a feisty mood, battle beginning trainers on their way through Route One. After a few months of this, I was caught and my pokeball handed to an adolescent child who knew nothing of the world outside the sleepy town. Years upon years of training on an Arceus-forsaken death trap of a mountain later, I started seeing Pallet Town as home. The food was just a bonus.

I was sitting in the grass on our third day of this particular visit, the late morning sun lighting everything in in sight. I was alone for the time being but this was all part of the training: if I could detect Espeon before she pounces, then I get extra treats after lunch. It was difficult to do with all the pollen in the air, early spring was notorious for making everyone's allergies act up. I lifted my head to look up at the distant Mount Silver, the peak forever shrouded in clouds and ice.

Despite popular belief that my team were recluses who had a death wish by staying on the mountain, we often left the snow and awful wind to visit my trainer's mother. She was a tiny woman, shorter than her seventeen-year-old son by nearly three inches but she shared the same hair and the same skin tone and had the same kind and calm aura surrounding her. I have never seen another pokemon not like her before, even when she eagerly goes up to them, greet them and quickly offer food or whatnot.

She had one pokemon that stayed in the house with her, a Mr. Mime that had been around since my trainer's younger days, possibly before even I hatched from my own egg. While he was kind, he was also strict and would constantly scold us for doing something he didn't approve of (such as our decision to travel up Mount Silver, the whole town could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs to my trainer for being an idiot).

I heard the grass suddenly rustle—it was so subtle I almost missed it. I jumped to all four of my paws and my ears constantly turned when the spot was empty, a few blades of grass lifting themselves back up after being disturbed. I knew she was still somewhere close, maybe even just a mere foot away but before I knew it, my nose tingled and I sneezed for the hundredth time.

All of a sudden, something heavier than me tackled from behind and I yelped (no, it was not a squeak and that was not why a deep, rumbling laugh came from Snorlax somewhere beside us). When Espeon sat on top of me triumphantly, she licked me and successfully disturbed the fur on top of my head.  _"Got you again,"_  she taunted and got off before I could shock her.

" _Best three out of four!"_  I shouted as I fixed my fur. I really wanted those poffins after lunch.

She just laughed and shook her head.  _"You know poffins are my favorite, too."_

"Lunch time!" a woman's voice shouted, her clear voice echoing into the sky.

Espeon instantly started running towards the white picket fence behind us.

" _Oh, no you don't! I will beat you before you even jump the fence!"_  I was a competitive little pokemon but I was speaking the truth. In terms of speed, I was the fastest in our team, Espeon only came third and I proved that by jumping over the fence before her and stood at the feet of our trainer's mother, smugly looking back at her.

She rolled her eyes at me though once two bowls were placed in front of us, we both started eating the fish the woman had prepared for us two. I had a sneaky feeling it was magikarp from the pink that was barely there anymore; it was easy to come by plus it was cheap in supermarkets.

She then picked up two larger bowls in either hand, one full of greens and another full of little fruits and fish. "Red, honey, this one is for Blastoise and this one is for Venusaur. When you get back, do the dishes. I won't tell you again," the woman scolded.

I started laughing at the misfortune of my human. Red may have been considered the strongest trainer in Kanto and he may have been able to catch all sorts of strong pokemon and even had a second home in the world's most dangerous mountain. He could come off as a cold young man that hated social interactions and had possibly thousands of young kids aspiring to be him but nothing scared him more than his own angry mother, not even that onix on Mount Silver that tried to kill us once. Hell, she scares me sometimes when she gets mad.

Red came out with a quiet nod and took the bowls from her. I lifted my head to look at the humans and by the look on his face, he'd been sleeping until maybe an hour or two ago. His crimson eyes were bleary from his sleep and raven hair was a mess, clear signs he had literally just rolled out of bed. I rolled my eyes. He and Snorlax had a lot of things common between them so it was a wonder how his mother even managed to wake the teenager up. I went back to my lunch as he approached Blastoise and Venusaur, both bowls in either hand.

Blastoise was tall for his species, standing at Red's height on two legs at five foot seven and was nothing but a motherly water-type who would take care of us if we were sick, hurt, or even depressed. I was grateful for his presence in the wilds, it was often when one or more of us were injured from a battle and were too far away from a pokemon center. He would also get onto Red about not cleaning up after himself, much like his real mother would.

He was also an amazing battler, equal in both attack and defense, he could deal damage and take hits just as well. Among our teammates, however, he and Charizard never quite got over their personal rivalry and constantly had little spats here and there. Deep down, however, he did care for the fire-type just as he cared for everyone else, even if he didn't voice it.

As Red made his way to Venusaur, I sat back on the last stair that lead into the yard, rubbing my bloated belly. His mother always gave us extra food, knowing the luxury was always a treat. Staying inside a house was a blessing. Venusaur took the bowl from Red with a single, thick vine and nudged the human towards the house with his large head. The grass-type was older than all of us, but it didn't seem to slow him down in the least. I've heard that a venusaur that living in Viridian forest lived to be a hundred and twenty before old age finally took him! With human care, I was curious how old one could get.

Venusaur was the most level-headed of our odd team and would hardly ever get annoyed or even angry. I've never even seen the large pokemon angry before and I was always scared to see that side of him. Otherwise, he was the one we could go to if we ever had a problem we couldn't work out and ask him for help and advice. He gladly helped anyone who asked him and even seemed to be sincere when answering us.

He always took his time when battling, preferring to set out traps for other pokemon to fall for and then attacking. While I was fast and used multiple attacks at once sometimes, he would usually use one that would deal enough damage to ensure victory. I’ve heard Snorlax say that Venusaur was our impenetrable shield in battle and I don’t disagree with that.

Red was looking around in the sky when I finally sat up from my food coma. Unable to find Charizard in the sky, he rose his left hand and put two fingers in his mouth then whistled loudly before he went inside. Wherever he’d flown to, Red had time to clean the dishes his mother had told him to do and came back out with a red bowl when the fire-type landed, mindful of his fiery tail so it wouldn’t burn the grass.

My human patted Charizard’s neck after he started to eat and he grumbled low in his throat in thanks. Charizard was extremely quiet for a fire-type and he was so serious, he scared me when he first joined the team as Charmander. I thought he would snap and attack me (he did a few times but quickly learned not to pick on me because I was smaller). He had a temper like most fire-types did but over time he had learned how to control it and not let the little things bother him so much. He could take Red’s mind off of whatever was trouble him no matter what it was just by going for a quick ten minute flight.

I’ve never seen anything faster than Charizard in the sky. Even a pidgeot near Mount Silver that I’ve seen could have just been a baby pidgey when they had battled and his attacks were nothing to sneeze at, either. If he lit himself on fire and came barreling straight towards you, on the ground or in the air at quite nearly the speed of sound, you’d run too. Really, it is a terrifying sight. I still shudder when I remember our mock battles.

He then turned his head to look at Snorlax. The lazy pokemon was asleep again in the afternoon sun and his own bowl had mysteriously disappeared. Red rubbed his face with a soft groan once he realized where it had gone and eyed Snorlax with mild annoyance. Luckily, a snorlax’s stomach could digest literally anything, so he didn’t need to worry about the large pokemon getting sick from eating the bowl. It was awfully inconvenient having to constantly buy the giant bowls at the markets when we were in town. They weren’t cheap and no matter how many times he was scolded, natural instincts constantly won him over and he would eat it. At least we didn’t need to worry about that up on the mountain, he’d just use his paws and wash them in the snow to get rid of any juices.

Snorlax was a gentle soul when it came down to it though. He also knew how to control all his muscles so whenever he wanted to hug us, he wouldn’t crush to death us on accident. Once, he nearly broke Red’s back right after we caught him and he didn’t hug the child for nearly a month after that. At least, not until he won his first battle after many days of training and he’d scooped him up into his huge paws and ten-year-old Red nearly disappeared into his long fur but at least he wasn’t crushed this time and laughed it off.

His immense physical strength helped us in battle, surprising multiple opponents since most snorlax were extremely lazy to the point where they’d come out of their pokeball sleeping. Wild ones would just sleep through attacks like it was nothing and continue to block roads trainers were trying to travel through, much like how we’d met ours. On top of his brute strength, he was an amazing strategist as well and whenever we were in a tough bind, he could figure himself a way out. I felt lucky he was with us.

With all of us fed and dishes taken care of, Red stayed outside with us and sat on the stairs on the porch in the backyard. Espeon was napping in his lap, a soft purr erupting when he mindlessly pet her fur as the rest of us did our own thing around the area. It felt better than being cooped up in our pokeballs and Espeon loved the attention she was getting from Red.

She was the youngest in the team and definitely had the hardest time getting up to where she is now, having been a simple pet to a man in Celadon City who told us he was unable to care for her anymore. She grew from being the shy and untrained Eevee we all grew to love despite being weak in battle to an extremely spirited and mischievous psychic who enjoyed playing tricks on us. If she was bored, we had to constantly watch our backs in case she was up to no good.

When she evolved, she had a hard time using her psychic abilities and at night she would cry herself to sleep when she felt she hadn’t been able to do anything during the training even after all the praises from the rest of the team. One night we fought each other (it had been a painful night for both of us and Red may or may not have been mad at us for fighting each other outside of training) and she finally realized she certainly was not weak and she could hold her own in any battle. I still can’t believe that I had to literally pound that into her head for her to understand. Now she is one of the strongest on the team and her psychic barrages were never held back against any opponent.

As she purred on, I jumped off the stairs and tilted my head at the oran berry bush that sat along in the garden. We may have been on vacation, but that didn't mean any wild bugs could go into our garden! I jumped inside and a small caterpie cried out in surprise and quickly jumped out and ran away.  _"They're not even ripe yet!"_  I shouted after it after catching my breath from laughing.

" _You didn't need to scare it,"_  Blastoise told me as I poked my head out of the bush.

" _It's not like I knew it was there,"_  I answered with a huff.

When the sliding door suddenly opened and a new voice laughed, we both turned once we recognized it. Espeon was annoyed at Red when he suddenly stood without giving her any warning.  _"Rude,"_  she mumbled and sat down beside his feet.

Red gave her no indication he’d heard her, simply smiling at the other trainer and returning a fist bump Blue offered. We hadn’t seen him in nearly a year and a half but from what I know of via Espeon (the little eavesdropper), the two constantly spoke to each other in forms of little text messages over their old pokegears. “You never tell us when you’re back in town and I only came because Gramps told me you were here,” he told Red and reached for something in his jacket. “Plus, something was sent to him for you. I don’t know why they couldn’t have just sent it here, it’s stupid.” He handed a yellow manila envelope to him, still sealed.

It was thin and slightly crumpled from being stuffed into the gym leader's pocket though he eyed it suspiciously once he spotted the league's insignia on the front. "What is this?" Red asked, frowning at the envelope.

"Open it and find out." Something was strange and I couldn't quite place what was wrong. Blue hadn't stopped grinning like a maniac since he spotted Red and handed him the envelope. If it was from the league, maybe there was another challenger? Was Blue finally challenging him again for the champion title?

Red eyed him carefully when he noticed as well but finally opened the envelope and the sudden noise attracted the other's attention. "What is this?" he asked again, pulling out the three sheets of paper and quickly glanced at them.

"Arceus, just read the first fuc—ahem, page. The first page." I laughed, knowing he was about to swear before Red's mother had opened the door to set a potted plant outside and glanced them curiously before she went back in. She probably would have kicked Blue out if he had dropped the f-bomb.

My trainer rose a brow at him and Blue just shrugged a tiny bit. Whatever silent communication was going on between them, I didn't understand. Humans are weird.

Finally he was reading the first page and slowly as he got near the end, his eyes widened to near comical sizes and he looked up so quickly, I thought his hair would fly off his head. "This is real, right?" he asked, suddenly excited.

" _What the hell are you so excited about?"_  I asked and easily jumped from the porch floor to my trainer's shoulder. I peered at the paper he held and made a complaining sound when he simply put the papers back.  _"I was trying to read that!"_

" _You get onto me about reading his messages on his pokegear, you can't read letters if I can't read texts,"_  Espeon scolded from below and stuck her tongue out at me. I mirrored the pose, barely hearing Blastoise sigh at us.

“Yeah, it’s real. Why do you think it’s got that on it?” Blue pointed to the symbol on the front. He pulled out his own envelope, though his looked like it had something else inside of it. “They sent me the tickets. We leave on Friday, so you better be up before noon and if we’re late catching the plane because you decided to sleep in like your lazy ass Snorlax, I will personally come over and beat you.”

Snorlax yawned in response.

Red wasn't listening, instead he pulled up the second page and this time I was able to see the long list of names on it. It was separated by region, though a few of them I'd never heard of before, causing me to tilt my head and ask,  _"Hey, Venusaur, where's Unova?"_

Venusaur was resting beside the fence and lifted his head from his paws when he was called. " _Unova? Very far away, an entire ocean separates us and them. Why?"_  came the answer.

"' _Cause that's what the paper says. Unova, Kanto, Hoenn… it's listing all the regions. There's like, three others that are listed, too."_

"Who are all of these people?" Red asked out loud, looking bewildered as he pulled the paper out of the envelope completely to read the entire list. I looked at it and Arceus, it was a long one. Just what the hell was going on?

Blue went to his other side to look at the paper. "Other trainers that have earned the Champion title, as well as gym leaders. They had been talking about inviting the Elite Four members as well, but everyone decided it was best they stayed in their regions until the champions and gym leaders came back."

I was lost. I had a feeling in my gut, a familiar feeling when we went up against other gym leaders years ago. I looked at the third page Red pulled out. It was a schedule of some kind, but I didn't bother reading it when he put back into the envelope.

Red was quiet for a bit then turned to see the team surrounding the porch with curiosity. Even Charizard and Snorlax were there, eyeing the two humans with utmost attention. He turned back to Blue and nodded once. "We're in."

Blue's azure eyes lit up and he gave another huge grin but this one was predatory and challenging. "You better be outside and ready to go by six am, if I don't see you outside with your stuff, you're going with nothing." He stepped off the porch and landed in the grass. "You better be prepared, Red, you're not the only one who's been training these years!"

He grabbed a pokeball and released Pidgeot. She looked surprised to see us but offered a polite nod as Blue climbed on. Once they took off in a hurry, the rest of us looked at Red expectantly.

" _Can you tell us what happened?"_  Espeon asked, the gem on her forehead glowing as she transferred her thoughts to him so he would understand.

Red glanced down at her and then looked at the envelope, a smile forming as he turned it around to let the others see the league's Moltres insignia. "A world tournament."

\---


	2. Welcome to Unova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to keep weekly updates as consistent as I can. My other fic will be updated sometime later this week because it's 3:48am and I'm going to sleep before I die at my computer desk.

_Pikachu_

There was no question about my trainers feelings towards his rival. Red and Blue hated each other and it seemed like nothing would ever change that.

Wherever they met, there was  _always_  something to argue about—who caught more pokemon, how many trainers they defeated, what they had for lunch, and other stupid shit that was so insignificant in their daily lives, it wouldn't have mattered if they argued or not since they would forget what they even argued about the next day.

They consistently challenged each other to battles like any rival would and had more than one fist fight us pokemon had to break up before someone got seriously injured. Once they fought over a wild growlithe they wanted to catch though Blue sneakily caught it after we had been stopped by a passing trainer looking for a battle and arrogantly made it one of the main battlers on his team just to show off to Red that he was the one who caught it and not him. Their disputes reminded me of Charmander and Squirtle when they first met each other with all the fights they had.

It was only until after the incident at Saffron City they could actually stand to be in each other's presence for more than a few seconds. We had been sitting on the curb of the sidewalk in the middle of the night, trying to process what the hell we'd just been through, and he had come up to us and simply sat down right next to us, looking just as frazzled as us. They didn't say anything at all but I was sure their presences comforted each other, even if it was very slight.

The next time we met was the first time I actually saw the two of them talk civilly to each other without coming close to blows and to say we—as in both teams—were surprised is an understatement.

After the championship match, of course Blue hated Red again for taking his title of a few hard-earned hours and I think Red was more annoyed than anything after the other trainer accused him of always stealing the spotlight from him. It wasn't until six months later when we were preparing to leave for Mount Silver when they finally started to make up with each other.

We had been hiding on a rooftop after escaping throngs of fans when we got out of the pokemon center and we were startled when Blue greeted us but said nothing else until he sat down beside Red. It was tense for a few minutes as we tried to think of reasons why he was up here on this hot rooftop since we couldn't leave otherwise we would have been bombarded by fans again.

Blue was the one who initiated a conversation to fill the awkward and painful silence, refusing to look at us as he spoke. He revealed he was out shopping for a new jacket after Jolteon tore a hole in his and he'd been bombarded by people just after he left the store. He admitted he relished the attention at first but when they wouldn't let up, he had Pidgeot fly him out and now needed a place to hide for an hour or so.

Eventually, Red also told him what had happened to us and they agreed to put their anger aside to figure out what to do in order to avoid unwelcome crowds that wanted their picture or autographs or interviews for the future. We left that awkward roof shortly after they exchanged each other's numbers.

As time passed, so did their dislike for each other. They began talking more and more and the first time I saw them smile at each other that didn't hold anger or contempt for the other and one that was actually friendly, I fainted and promptly got laughed at by my teammates. When Blue became the gym leader of Viridian City, Red even helped him figure out what kind of puzzle he should put in the gym but it was Espeon who gave Blue the brilliant idea of moving tiles. She convinced him he would have the best time watching trainers fall straight on their asses as they tried to navigate the course and he accepted without question. Blue was already laughing about it as Red tried to tell him no, don't do that, moving tiles were a bad idea (but he was trying not to laugh as well). Through tears of laughter, Blue said to him that he would take his opinion on the matter and think about it. He had the moving tiles installed later that same week.

If younger me were to see their relationship today, I probably would have thought it was just a dream. Red and Blue were like oil and vinegar; they had their own ways of teaching the teams, their own strategies, likes and dislikes, and they especially had different attitudes and personalities. I probably would have had a heart attack when I saw the two give each other their first friendly hug after Blue had his gym officially inaugurated as the eighth gym.

They say opposites attract. I hadn't realized it applied to rivals, too.

\---

I was pressing my face against the window in our first-class seats as we flew over open ocean, my eyes wide with amazement. I had never been in an airplane before and even though I knew we were going to be flying I shouldn't have been so excited since I always went flying with Charizard on a near-daily basis. Maybe it was because we were traveling so far from Kanto and we had never flown so far at once, much less gone to another region other than Johto (which was literally on the other side of Mount Silver) or perhaps it was because it was my first time in an airplane.

My face slowly became squished against the cold window and pulled away to rub my nose. With another glance outside, I realized that I never knew just how enormous the ocean truly was until now. Sure, I'd seen maps and saw bodies of water but I thought nothing of it until now when they, being the captain and the stewardesses, told us we would be flying for seven hours over the ocean to Castelia City, Unova. I had previously thought to myself maybe Charizard could have just flown us but after hearing that and seeing for myself just how vast the ocean is, I highly doubted Charizard would be able to make even a third of this journey without getting exhausted.

I finally turned my head from the window to look up at my trainer when Red shifted in his seat for the millionth time. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was nervous. He was unable to sit still and he hardly even made eye contact with Blue while the low hum of the plane's engines stayed steady as we soared in the sky. Blue had made fun of him earlier about his anxiety but then told us that he had been nervous for his first airplane ride as well. He also reminded us that his first plane ride had been all the way to Kalos which itself was an eleven hour flight without the layover in Sinnoh and there had been screaming children on the same plane.

Red finally relaxed after almost three hours into our long flight and stared outside as well. He had his white earbuds plugged into his pokegear, with his music no doubt blasting in his ears so he couldn't hear the hum of the engine but I knew that wasn't the only reason. It was distracting him from all the eyes of other trainers around us that would stare at us for an uncomfortably long time before they would realize they were gawking and quickly look away to be polite (but usually they would unintentionally start to stare again and the process would repeat itself). We were hardly ever in the public (Red adamantly told us he hated doing interviews and would to his utmost ability to avoid reporters and cameras) so I suppose seeing us in person was a shock.

Eventually, whatever music that was playing in his ears had lulled him to sleep and his grip on his pokegear loosened enough that it nearly fell to the ground. I caught it before the earbuds would have ripped out of his ears and woken him but I sighed with relief before any of that happened and tucked it safely into his vest pocket, giving a tap for good measure.

When the other trainers stopped staring at us or fell asleep themselves, Blue went out of his seat to greet another trainer that he apparently recognized as a strong trainer that had gone through his gym recently (but he gloated that of course he and Red were the better trainers) and accepted a challenge from him for a later date when we would return to Kanto. When the trainer asked about Red and looked at us two, I pointed up to Red's sleeping face and motioned to them that he was fast asleep and made little snoring noises. I swore I heard Blue say he wanted to take some pictures for blackmail later on but with a few minor sparks from yours truly, he was discouraged from doing so.

It was pretty quiet the entire flight and I knew I had fallen asleep in Red's lap after a while when I was woken up once someone gently patted my head. I made a whining sound and even considered going back to sleep when I heard Blue's amazed, "Wow, that place is bigger than Lumiose City!"

It sounded so un-Blue like, I had to open my eyes to see what he was so astounded by. I lifted my head and uncurled from my tight ball in my trainer's lap and saw that he was also staring outside into the afternoon city skyline. Whatever city this was, it was huge and all of the buildings were nearly twice as tall as the Silph Co. building in Saffron City with huge glass windows reflecting the sun away from us.

Suddenly a voice overhead us said,  _"We are currently making our descent into Castelia City, we ask you to begin placing your items back into your bags and putting them in the overhead storage compartments or underneath your seats."_

Neither of the boys were paying attention to the voice as they stared at the city far below us as we made our way inland. One of the stewardesses had to come over and remind them that they needed to sit down and buckle in and they both obeyed right after she gave them the stink eye for not listening earlier.

I was grateful when we finally landed and I quickly learned that being stuck inside a giant metal tube thousands of feet in the air was stuffy and uncomfortable. There was no room for anyone to really run around and stretch, children in the economy class were extremely loud and someone had something to complain about, even Red and Blue. Once we were off of the plane, I took a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. Unova air smelled completely different than Kanto and didn't have that calm aura our homes did.

Red and Blue stopped at a small restaurant in the airport for lunch and all three of us devoured our meals in a few minutes. I hadn't realized I'd been so hungry, but when they avoided the gates that led outside, they simply went to another part of the airport despite my shouting at them, trying to tell them that the gate was the other way. I felt devastated when we were simply getting onto another plane. It was a small one, probably fit thirty or so people and surprisingly, it was just us and a couple other tired passengers so it get me space to run around for an hour. I was giddy since it was finally our last plane and there weren't any kids on it however, there was turbulence halfway that made me squeak and instantly I ran back to Red, who smiled and gave me a pat of encouragement to keep me calm.

I decided that I never want to go in another airplane even if my life depended on it.

By the time we finally landed, it was near lunch time, which confused me since we already had lunch at the airport in Castelia. Hadn't it already been noon five hours ago? I yawned instead as we stood up, suddenly feeling terribly exhausted. I even thought about having Red put me into my pokeball as he carried me in his arms but with one look up at his face, I saw that I wasn't the only one affected by the jet lag with dark circles under his eyes and tried to stifle his own yawn. Blue wasn't much better beside us, groaning with relief as we finally landed just an hour after we took off from Castelia.

We had to wait until everyone else were off for security reasons, as the captain told us, but the passing people wished us all good luck in the tournament and a few even said they would be rooting for Red and I to win while a couple others wanted Blue to win. After they left, both of them shot a challenging glare at each other and I sighed at the two. Wishing either of them luck when they were in each other's presence woke up their 'rival side,' as Espeon liked to call it. They would have battled then and there if they could have had it not been for the stewardesses informing us that it was safe for us to get off.

"I really hope I get the chance to finally kick your ass," Blue said right after we got off the plane and walked through the enclosed gray hall.

Red rose a brow.

" _You wouldn't stand a chance against us!"_  I declared, language barriers be damned.

We were stopped halfway through the strange hallway by security ( _again;_  I was starting to get annoyed with this airport business). Blue seemed to have expected it and slung the backpack he had been carrying over his shoulder. "Once you exit the PBB, follow the yellow markers to the front door and look for Wesley," the burly man informed us. "Older man, has a ridiculous tailcoat on all the time. He'll take you two to the hotel where you will be staying at for the next four months."

I went still. Exactly how long did he say we would be staying here? I shot a glare at Red that my trainer ignored. He failed to notify us that we would be in this foreign region for so long. Four months away from our mountain home?

Then horrifying thoughts struck me such as:  _how am I going to survive this tournament so far away from home? When we get back, Red will find out how many berries we've picked and hidden as treats for ourselves! They'll be rotting in our cave and we're going to get into so much trouble!_ And then a ghastlier thought hit me.  _Or worse, what if another pokemon manages to sneak in and eat all of our hard-picked berries? I know that stupid Sneasel is going to eat them! Damn her!_

As these thoughts rapidly ran through my brain, I barely realized that we were already walking with the guard in front of us. He stopped at the door and looked at us. "There's a whole lot of people out there that want to see you two. Just follow the marked path and you can meet Westley without any troubles. Good luck in the tournament!"

\---

Westley was a butler of many talents—or so he claimed—and he worked for the Driftveil Chateau Hotel, which was apparently one of the best five-star hotels in the world, according to the old man. He also added that usually he wouldn't even come out himself to greet guests however it had been a personal request from Professor Oak that he could do it. I didn't know whether to be grateful to have an escort or be annoyed that all he did for a few minutes was vent about how he had other work to do back at the chateau.

It took us almost an hour to get from the airport that was located just north of the city and he told us that the city had grown exponentially since the pokemon world tournament began a few years ago. I was amazed at the city. It had looked so small from the sky, but now that we were on the ground and driving around, the city looked incredibly modern and it was clean, quite unlike Saffron City which was old and more than a few buildings needed to be remodeled.

Finally the car we were riding in came up to a white gate that automatically opened up when we pulled in close to it. As we drove through and got closer to the front doors, I was in awe at the sheer size and elegance.

 _Is this really a hotel?_  I thought, gaping at the white building in front of us. The large hotel really was a chateau, the yard itself looked like a king's courtyard, complete with hedges trimmed in various different pokemon shapes, a large fountain in the center and two smaller ones at the edge of the yard. After we got out of the car, I noticed a stone brick path led from the glass front doors, through the gardens and towards another side of the fence that likely would lead out to the city.

" _Oh wow…"_  I said to myself. I'd never seen anything like this before and with one glance, I could see Red and Blue gaping at the sight, also amazed.

Westley seemed to be amused at their awe and walked to the doors as a bellboy went to the trunk to unload their suitcases. He stepped aside as the doors opened automatically and said clearly, "Welcome to Unova!"

If this was how people welcomed foreigners to Unova, or even other regions, then I certainly wasn't complaining. I could get used to this.

After we stepped inside, I realized that it was just as clean and the elegance never left: a bit of red carpet served as a road for the humans leading up to stairs that curved outwards from a fountain that had three carved faces of pokemon I didn't recognize spouting water from the mouths. There was a chandelier hanging directly above us, shimmering as Westley lead us through the chateau towards a pair of silver metal doors next to the reception's desk.

The butler pressed a button after we all stepped inside, bellboy included with our things. As the doors closed, he said, "You will each have separate suites and while your pokemon are more than welcome to remain outside of their pokéballs, we ask that you please stay with them. Pokemon have been known to wander off and cause problems among other guests and staff."

Red pointedly looked at me and I couldn't help but to snicker for a few moments. There was one time when we first started our journey and it was just myself, Squirtle and Ivysaur when Red stayed at a pokemon center, he let us loose to have some fun and it ended up with Red doing lots of apologizing and brutal training within the hour. Good times, good times.

The elevator doors suddenly dinged and opened as we reached the fifteenth floor. The carpet was the same dark red as the first floor and the ceiling was slightly curved in like an egg, though the top was flattened so it could hang a lamp between every door. All the way down the bright hall near the stairs was when Westley finally stopped at a door and pulled out two card keys from his tailcoat's pocket and gave one to each trainer. "One of you may take this room. The other room is right across from us." He motioned with a hand to the door straight across ours. "I was also informed to give you both these. They are the passes you will need to enter the stadium for the meeting tomorrow morning." He then bowed politely. "I wish you both luck in your matches." With that, the bellboy handed our suitcases to us and turned around and headed back to the elevator with Westley.

Red glanced at Blue as he yawned. "I'm going to take a nap. See you later, Red," he said as he went to the door right beside us.

I rolled my eyes at him. He was the one who called us lazy just the other day for enjoying sleeping in and he was the one who wanted to nap. Red approached the other door and slid the key inside until the light turned green and he opened it.

The room itself felt like it was the size of Red's childhood home with a king-size bed that sat in the middle of the room against the wall and two nightstands on either side of it. The dark stained wooden headboard was covered by at least five thousand pillows of various sizes and the bed posts had dark red curtains pinned against them. I was sure Red would use those to block out the light the large window poured in right against the bed at night. There was even a dark wooden round table beside a full size kitchen on the left side of the room, a couch that sat in front of a mounted television and a brown coffee table with a vase full of yellow flowers on it.

There were two separate closets that caught my curiosity and luckily Red opened one door, leaving us both to gape at the bathtub large enough to swim in and a shower beside it. My trainer suddenly took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, something I've noticed he does when he's in disbelief. All of this? Just for us? It did feel a little overwhelming, and so much fanciness I was afraid something here was going to break within the first few days if we touched it.

He looked at me after looking around at our new home for a few months and I grinned. I could at least get used to it. He took out the other five pokeballs and released them one by one, allowing them to explore our new home as he went into the walk-in closet, where he set his suitcase inside and opened it up.

Espeon was sniffing the bed before she cautiously jumped on it.  _"This place is fancy,"_  she said simply after she sat down.

" _Indeed. Is this how all champions are treated here?"_  Venusaur asked curiously, moving towards the open window and soaked up the sun.

" _Seems like. You should've seen the entourage in the airport!"_  I said excitedly.  _"Like, all of Unova came to see us and say hi! There were a lot of cameras too, so I think we'll be on the news again."_

Snorlax was carefully making his way behind the couch, where the space was the largest and sat down with a loud, "Laaax…" He stretched as he spread out.  _"This place is amazing, I can stretch and nothing will fall down,"_  he told us.

A loud, shrill ringing noise coming from the closet caught my attention and I poked my head in as Red sat on his knees in front of his open suitcase and dug out his ringing pokegear from his pocket. "Hi," he said simply, his low voice echoing between the walls. He was quiet for a few moments, and I could hear another person speaking on the other side and easily recognized his mother's voice. "No, unpacking… Yes… Yes… Maybe later… Dunno."

" _Does he not know how to speak in full sentences anymore?"_  Blastoise said with a roll of his eyes from the kitchen.

" _It's his mom. She's probably asking him how the flight went,"_  I told him, jumping up onto the table with a single leap.

"Long. It would've been easier to fly with Charizard."

I wanted to laugh as Charizard rolled his eyes at our trainer. Even he knew he wouldn't be able to fly over an entire ocean.

Red sat on the couch for a few silent moments before he sighed in annoyance. "I know, I will. No, we won't this time…  _Yes,_  Mom, I promise."

I couldn't hold back anymore laughter, whatever they were talking about, it was highly likely that his mother was getting onto him about doing his laundry or something along those lines. She did complain about the lack of clothes he'd packed for our trip before we left. "Okay, I love you too." He hung up with an exasperated sigh. When he saw Charizard's amused expression, he simply rolled his eyes and went back to the closet to finish putting his things away.

It wasn't long before we took a nap, the jetlag had affected us more than we thought and I wasn't surprised to see that Red had fallen asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillows. An amazing talent itself, really. I sometimes wish I could do the same thing. It took me hours to get comfortable most times but I suppose I was tired as well because when I blinked, the sun starting to set and Blastoise seemed happy that I was awake.

He then turned to the lump of blankets that no doubt held Red inside. He pulled the covers down a little to reveal his sleeping face and he winced as the sunlight hit him directly. He turned around to avoid the light and Blastoise sighed when the covers were pulled up and over his face one more time.

It was extremely difficult to get our trainer up when he was this tired, we would have better luck waking Snorlax up from a deep sleep at this point.

Blastoise turned to Espeon next.  _"You know what to do,"_  he told her.

The lavender pokemon grinned mischievously at the silent request and I immediately felt sorry for our human when she pounced on the lump of blankets that was Red. He coughed as she jumped onto his chest with a quiet, "Oof!"

" _Get up, lazy,"_  she said, the gem glowing.

 _I am up._  Red's thoughts used to come to us as a shock, we hadn't started hearing them until Eevee evolved into Espeon and it used to tire our psychic so much she almost fainted the first time she tried. Now full conversations came easily to her and it was more often in battle that the two would communicate telepathically rather than Red directing her with his hand movements.

The lump in the sheets moved, successfully pushing her off and he yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes to glance outside towards the setting sun.  _Eat… then training… sleep?_  His stray thoughts came to us unintentionally as he finally got to his feet and headed for the restroom with a hand running through his hair.

I glanced at Espeon as she rolled her eyes and the gem stopped glowing.  _"I hate night training,"_  she mumbled, mostly to herself.

" _That's just because I always beat you at any night training,"_  I taunted and smugly grinned at her when she narrowed her eyes. She knew it was true, while she excelled during the day, night time was not her strong point.

" _Please don't start arguing again, I don't think I can take it today,"_  Blastoise said with a sigh.

" _You're one to talk,"_  Charizard mumbled under his breath. The water-type turned to face him from beside him, his stubby arms crossed across his chest.

" _Oh, here we go,"_  Snorlax said with a roll of his eyes.

As Blastoise opened his mouth to no doubt snap something right back at our favorite moody fire-type, Venusaur cut in with,  _"It would be best to follow your own advice, Blastoise, no matter who starts anything."_

Blastoise huffed and glared at Charizard for good measure and I sighed at the starter pokemon. At least their love-hate relationship didn't matter when they were in battle. In double battles, the two felt like they were unbeatable and nothing could stand in their way. Socially, however, even Snorlax would be able to speak to others easier and not scare off any trainer or pokemon that wanted to talk to us.

Red came out with a washed face and we all looked towards the door when there was a loud couple of knocks on the door. He glanced at Espeon, who simply tilted her head and then nodded at him once. Times like this I wish I knew what they were saying to each other, I wanted to know who was behind the door, before everyone else as well.

He opened the door without looking through the peephole on the door and Blue stepped in before it closed in his face. "Red, you're coming with me," he declared.

My trainer tilted his head a little in confusion as he pulled his shoes on.

"You know where. You promised to come with me on the plane and I'm so hungry, I can eat an entire miltank by myself."

Red smirked with amusement and nodded. He turned, recalled the team and pulled his vest on as he walked outside. After making sure he had the room key with him, he closed the door and followed his rival to the elevator.

I was surprised how many people were still outside as the sun barely peaked over the horizon. Perhaps it was because of the impending tournament that would start soon and it was tourist season, but when we crossed the street, it seemed like night time was when everyone came outside. People and pokemon crowded the parking lot that was used as a makeshift marketplace and there was no doubt in my mind that this parking lot would be full of cars by the time the tournament started.

Luckily, people and pokemon didn't look twice at us when we went in search of a food stall that the two could agree on. We finally stopped at the food courts then after a quick game of rock, paper, scissors and Blue was grinning when he won the game and led the way to the ramen stand that had a long line, but at least it moved quickly. Red even gave me a piece of meat after I was done eating my own bowl, happy the stall also sold pokemon-sized meals.

We explored well after the sun set but we climbed over a slightly steep hill and all three of us were staring at the stadium that was bright and extremely loud cheering was coming from it once we reached the top. The parking lot surrounding the stadium was full and Blue smirked. "They're finishing a different tournament tonight," he told us. "Winner gets a whole lot of money, top trainer status and top three even get a free trip to Alola for two weeks."

I had no idea where Alola was, but Red seemed to be impressed.

"Don't forget about tomorrow. Meeting starts at nine. Introductions at twelve."

Red sighed. It was his way of telling Blue that he knew about whatever meeting and introduction there was.

Blue suddenly grinned. "If we get matched up against each other, expect to finally lose. You aren't the only one who's been training for years!" He turned around with a backwards wave and walked away, no doubt going back for our hotel home.

Red turned back to the stadium once he'd disappeared into the crowds of the market. I looked up at him curiously from my spot at his feet. He seemed to be pretty indifferent about it and I smiled when I saw his crimson eyes full of determination. Our reputation as the undefeated champion was at stake and I felt more than ready to face whatever challenges this tournament would throw at us.

\---


End file.
